I'll Always Remember
by ArianamaslowBTR25
Summary: James looses the love of his life 5 years ago in a hit and run, but what happens when she comes back to life? Will he give it all away?


**Hey, this is something I wrote a while ago and wanted you guys to read. Enjoy!**

.:James' P.O.V.:.

I walked through the cemetery, a bouquet of red roses in my hands. I was looking for one grave in particular. It wouldn't take me long, I visited the site at least once a week. Finally, I came upon the headstone I was looking for.

Here lies Ashly Thompson.

Known to many as an old soul in a young body

A soul that left this world too soon.

May she rest in peace.

July 15, 1990-July 15, 2006

And like every time I read the writing, I fell to my knees crying. I remember that day 5 years ago so clearly. The day I lost my best friend, my girlfriend, the love of my life.

~Flash back, 5 years ago, still James' P.O.V.~

Ashly and I were walking down the street, holding hands. It was a beautiful summer day, and we were going to spend her birthday at the beach. She was turning 16 today. It was my surprise to her. We became friends when she moved here 4 years ago after her parents died. We started dating a month ago, and what can I say, I was crazy about the girl.

Ashly- James! Where are we going!

James- that is still for me to know and you to find out

Ashly- *shoves him* not fair!

James- *laughing* it is so totally fair, your birthday, your surprise!

Ashly- well then, since you aren't going to tell me where, your going to carry me the whole way *jumps on his back* James- *laughing, looking back at her smiling* your not that heavy, so easy

Ashly- *leans in and kisses him*

James- *stops walking and kisses her back*

Ashly- *pulls away* onward!

Jashly- *laughing*

Out of no where, I heard tires

screeching, only seconds before I got struck hard from behind. I flew into the air, but it wasn't long before I collided hard with the windshield of the car. My ribs hit the top of the windshield while my head smashed through the glass. The car kept right on moving. Tumbling through the air, I rolled over the back bumper and landed hard on the ground. Everything hurt. My mind was trying to work through the pain, but nothing was coming. That was, until an image of Ashly flashed before my closed eyes. It took me a minute or two to open my eyes and look for Ashly. She was laying crumpled on the ground a few feet from me. She wasn't moving. I rolled onto my stomach, reaching for her.

"ASHLY!" I yelled, but she didn't respond. Tears fell from my eyes as yelled for her again. People began arriving on the scene then. I tried to pull myself over to her when someone grabbed my shoulders.

Lady- *pushing him down* stay still, don't move

James- *struggling, blood dripping down his face from a gash on his forehead* ASHLY!

Men- *running over to Ashly, trying to get her to respond*

James- ASHLY! Ashly! Ashly...ashly...ash *blacks out*

~end flashback, still James' P.O.V. ~

I started crying harder, my shoulders shaking violently from how hard I was sobbing. That was the last time I saw her. I never got to see her after I woke up in the hospital.

~flashback~

Things were starting to come back for me, sounds, light. There was an annoying beeping off to my side, and a blinding light over my head. I opened my eyes, but squinted almost immediately from the brightness. I turned my head off to the side, only to stop because of the sheer pain I felt. I groaned involuntarily.

James' Mom- oh my god! Your awake! *hugs him*

James- *groans in pain*

JM- *pulls away*

James- where am I?

JM- your in the hospital sweetie, you got pretty banged up

I struggled against the fuzziness in my mind. I didn't remember much. My thoughts were interrupted when the doctor walked into the room.

Doc- good you are awake, how are you feeling Mr. Maslow?

James- horrible.

Doc- that is to be expected, that was a pretty serious accident you were in.

James- do you mind telling me what happened? I don't remember much.

Doc- of course not. Two days ago you were brought in after getting struck from behind by a drunk driver. You have two broken ribs and a few gashes that needed stitches, but other than that you don't have any other injuries, you were very lucky.

That is when it all clicked. I hadn't been injured so bad, but what about my girlfriend, what happened to Ashly?

James- *urgently* what about Ashly?

Doc- who sir?

James- Ashly! My girlfriend, she was hit too!

Doc- *looks at his mom*

JM- *nods slightly*

Doc- *looks back at James* I am sorry, but she isn't going to make it

James- *shocked* what!

Doc- she was struck with more force than you were, she had a lot of internal damage and bleeding. When the car struck her, it shattered her pelvis, as well as a few vertebra. When the bones shattered, they severed the Aorta and Vena Cava in her back, causing massive internal bleeding. We have her here, in ICU, and we did everything we could to save her, but she lost too much blood. We are just waiting for her to move on.

James- *shocked silent*

Nurse- *walks in* Doctor

Doc- *turns and looks at her*

Nurse- *nods, leaves*

Doc- *sits next to James, holding his hand* I am sorry, but she is gone, she just died

James- *shaking his head, ignoring the pain* no, she can't be gone, she can't be

Doc- I am sorry, but she is

James- *starts sobbing* no, Ashly! No!

~end flashback~

I looked up through my tears, running my fingers along the polished stone of her grave.

James- I miss you soo much Ashly. Every day it gets harder. Why Ashly, why did you have to leave me.

I put my head in my hands, sobbing, as I relived her death again. I couldn't live with out her anymore.

~Three months later, James' P.O.V.~

I walked through the cemetery yet again, sobbing even before I got to her grave site. It was the five year anniversary of her death. Actually, it was her birthday, 5 years later. I count this as the day she died. That is why I had that engraved on her tombstone. She died the same day I did. The day I died was the day I lost her. I placed the bouquet of flowers at her grave. They were her favorites, red roses, day lilies and tulips. I knelt down like always, placing my head in my hands as I thought about how she died. I guess I had stayed there longer than I had planned to, because I started when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

?- Are you all right?

I tensed, that voice. That was Ashly's voice. I must be hearing things, but the hand on my shoulder felt real enough. I stood up, not facing her. The hand never left my shoulder.

James- *wipes his nose* I guess I am, but then against, I just spent a couple hours crying in front of a grave. So maybe not.

?- is it anything you want to talk about?

She spoke so sweetly, just like Ashly had whenever I was upset. The tone of her voice was so caring. Tears started trailing from my eyes again.

James- *crying silently, shakes his head no*

?- *hugs him from behind*

James- *unwraps her arms from around him and turns to look at her, gasps* Ashly!

Ashly- how do you know my name?

James- its James! Don't you remember me?

Ashly- *shakes head no* i don't even know what I am doing here. I just got a feeling like someone needed help and I was drawn here. You were the first person I saw *shrugs*

James- *tears streaming down his face* so you really have no clue who I am?

Ashly- sorry, but no.

I turned tail and ran. Ran away from my past. There had to be some kinda sick joke behind this. Ashly was long dead. There was no way she could have just been standing in front of me. I ran back to my apartment, collapsing in heaving sobs as soon as I closed the door behind me. If i thought that I didn't care about life before today, now I just wanted it to end. I wished that I had died along with Ashly in that crash, then we would be together right now. And in that moment, I wanted nothing more than to do just that, to die.

.:Ashly's P.O.V.:.

As soon as James took off, I ran after him. I don't know what compelled me to do so, but some how it felt wrong just to stand around and watch a clearly hurting person run off. He ran into an apartment building, and it was just my luck that I didn't need a key to get into the building. Once I got up to the floor he was on, I listened to the doors, trying to locate him. One of the doors I came across was slightly open. Pushing it in, I saw him crumpled on the floor, shaking from how hard he was sobbing. I shut the door behind me quickly and moved to his side. Shushing him, I pulled him up to his feet and up to the couch. I sat down and let him lay beside me, arms wrapped around my leg. I sat there, stroking his hair and rubbing his back for hours, until his sobs finally quieted. Once I was sure he was fully asleep, I unwrapped his arms and got up, moving to chair on the other side of the room. As I walked over, I caught a glimpse of some of the pictures on his mantle. Oddly, they were all pictures of him and someone who looked exactly like me. The two looked so happy together, but the last picture caught my attention. It was a picture of just her, with the words 'Ashly Thompson, July 15,1990- July 15,2006' written below it. That is when things made sense. Five years ago today, his girlfriend died. And I probably made things worse by trying to comfort him. Stupid genetics. I sat down on the seat and curled up. I knew it would be stupid, but I closed my eyes and fell asleep there, not knowing what would happen when he woke the next morning.

~next morning~

.:James' P.O.V.:.

I rolled over on the sofa, sore. My eyes and mouth were dry from crying the whole night. Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and looked around the surprising bright room. I saw a figure curled up in the chair next to the mantle. It took me a minute to recognize who it was.

James- *scratchy voice* Ashly?

Ashly- *bolts upright* oh, your awake *rubbing her eyes*

James- where you here all night?

Ashly- I stayed by you until you fell asleep, then I moved to the chair *shrugs*

James- why did you follow me?

Ashly- I don't really know, another one of those feelings

James- *laughs* I'm going to have to thank those feelings one of these days

Ashly- *laughs*

~two months later~

.:Ashly's P.O.V.:.

James and I were walking down a street, heading down to the beach. I suggested taking a shorter way, but he refused. He refused to go back down that dreaded street. I can only guess what had happened there. I thought about everything he told me over the past two months, every special thing and every special place he had been with Ashly. He loved that girl to pieces. It must have been horrible to live 5 years of your life without someone you love. It must have felt awful knowing that you survived the same crash while she died. Just miserable. I slowed down as I saw some guy drop his briefcase in the middle of the road, papers spilling everywhere.

Ashly- *points to man* hey, he looks like he needs help. Be right back *runs and kneels down next to man, picking up papers*

Drunk driver- *speeding towards them*

Man- *notices, gets up and runs*

James- *sees car* ASHLY! NO!

Ashly- *stands up and looks at car coming her way*

I was frozen in place, watching death come speeding towards me. That was, until something slammed into me from the side, hurling me towards the ground. I turned around to see James standing in my place.

Ashly- *extends hand at James* NOO!

I watched, eyes wide in shock as the car slammed into him. Throwing him up and into the windshield, then over the top of the car and down onto the pavement with a sickening crunch. The moment he hit the pavement, my head exploded in pain. Within thirty seconds, hundreds of images flew passed my eyes. They were images of James and his girlfriend together, but they felt too much like memories to be just something random. Then the emotions of the events hit me. All the pain, the love, the passion, it all a swarmed through my body. Then it all came together, these weren't just some random memories, they were MY memories. I died in that wreck five years ago, but somehow I was given a second chance. As my vision cleared I got up and ran towards where James lay in a heap on the ground. He wasn't moving. Terror shot through me. I couldn't let him die.

Ashly- JAMES! JAMES! Please James! Wake up! Please!

Paramedics- *arrive on the scene*

Ashly- *kneeling next to james* James! Please, I can't lose you again! JAMES! *tears streaming down her face*

Officer- *grabs her arm* miss, you have to move

Ashly- *yanks arm away* No! I am not losing him! JAMES! *crying heavily*

Officer- *grabs both her arms, pulling them behind her back, then pulling her up to her feet*

Crowd- *forming around the scene, tears in eyes as they watch Ashly*

Ashly- *struggling against his arms, screaming* NO! NO! LET ME GO! JAMES! JAMES! JAMES! NOOOO! *stops struggling, collapses sobbing* James! Don't leave me James, don't leave me.

Officer- *holds her up, gets her in the car and they follow ambulance to hospital*

~three weeks later~

.:Ashly's P.O.V.:.

Three weeks. Three weeks since the accident. Three weeks since I remembered. Three weeks in the hospital. Three weeks and he was still unconscious and in a coma. Three weeks of doctors telling us he wouldn't make it. Three weeks of never losing hope. I ran into his mom that first day in the hospital and explained everything. She hugged me like she was never going to let go. We both switched off sitting with him, listening to his heart monitor beat weakly and watching for any sign of life coming from the seemingly lifeless boy. It was my shift today, I held his hand in mine, stroking his pale cheek, whispering to him softly. Letting him know that I was here. Letting him know that I was never leaving. Eventually I stopped talking to him and started reading a book silently, though my hand never left his. Marley and me, it was a good book but not the smartest book choice for this situation. Halfway through a page, I felt pressure on the hand that was holding his. I looked up at him, his cheeks had more color than the last time.

Ashly- *squeezes his hand gently* James?

James- *still*

Ashly- *tears dripping down her face* James, if you can hear me, please, squeeze my hand again

James- *squeezes hand lightly*

Ashly- *starts crying* Mrs. Maslow!

JM- *runs in* what!

Ashly- he's waking up!

JM- *walks to side of his bed opposite Ashly, takes his other hand* sweetie, if you can hear me, squeeze my hand

James- *stirs slightly in bed, fails to squeeze her hand though*

JM- *places hand over mouth* Jesus, Mary and Joseph

James- *croaks* Mom?

JM- I'm right here sweetie *strokes his face* its okay, *starts to cry* I'm right here

James- *opens eyes and sees Ashly* Ashly?

Ashly- *crying, nods* thank you for saving me James, I could never repay you

James- *about to talk*

Ashly- *places finger gently over his mouth* don't talk, I will, okay?

James- *nods slowly, closing his eyes again*

Ashly- remember that day in the cemetery, two months ago when you asked if I had any clue who you were? I remember who you are now. I remember moving, meeting you for the first time. I remember all the fun parties, all the practical jokes. I remember when you asked me to be your girlfriend. I even remember what happened up until the crash on my 16 birthday. I remember everything James. I don't know how, but we got a second chance James, and I only realized it once it was almost to late. I love you James, and I am never letting you go. Never again.

James got out of the hospital 2 months later, after many surgeries and casts to heal the damage the driver had dealt. Ashly moved in with him at his apartment to take care of him. He proposed 6 weeks after she moved in. A year later they got married. They eventually had two kids together, Ariana Genevieve and Peter Daniel Maslow. Every year though, on her birthday, they visit her gravesite. Leaving flowers not only for whatever remains of her underground, but for whoever brought them back together. Because no matter how many bad memories this place might harbor, it lead to many more good things. If you don't believe in miracles, maybe you should, they happen more often than you think.


End file.
